Dual fastener



March 5, 1957 3, eams 2,783,515

DUAL FASTENER FiIed April 234. 1955 INVENTOR Tobias BY 6M ATTORNEY United States Patent DUAL FASTENER Herrrnann B. Tobias, Washington, D. C. Application April 23, 1953, Serial No. 350,781

1 Claim. (CI. 24-81) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to dual fasteners and has for its primary object to provide a fastener which is particularly adapted for use in centrally securing a garment on its hanger.

Another object of the invention resides in constructing a dual fastener having opposed fastening elements adapted to be anchored respectively to the body of a garment and to the conventional garment hanger.

A further object of the invention consists in the provision of a dual fastener in which one of the fastener elements is adapted to engage about the shaft of a garment hanger and the other fastener element will grasp a portion of the garment.

A still further object of the invention consists in the provision of a simple and inexpensive dual fastener in which one of the fastener elements may be opened by pressure of the fingers of the operator and will automatically close when the pressure is removed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional coat hanger with one form of the dual fastener attached thereto and clipped to a garment supported upon the hanger;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the hanger and dual fastener of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the dual fastener of Figure 1;

Figures 4 and 5 are a plan and sectional view respectively of a modified form of dual fastener;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the dual fastener of Figures 1 to 3 inclusive and showing one of the fastener elements opened preliminarily to gripping a portion of a garment;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of dual fastener, and,

Figures 8 and 9 are sectional views taken at right angles to each other of the structure of Figure 7.

In each of the several forms of the invention the dual fastener is of disk-like form and made of elastic material such as rubber, or other plastic.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive the rubber disk 1 is provided with a cylindrical opening 2, extending from one surface to the other of the disk, and this opening is caused to communicate with the periphery 3 of the disk by means of a slit 4 which extends throughout the body of the disk from the opening 2 to the periphery 3. The length of the diameter of the opening and the length of the slit together correspond to a distance approximating the radius of the disk. Diametrically opposed to the opening 2 and slit 4 is a more or less triangular opening 5 which extends from one surface of the disk to the other and communicates with the periphery 3 by means of a slit 6 which also extends from one surface to the other of the disk.

The opening 2 and slit 4 provide a pair of nibs 7 and 8 and the opening 5 and slit 6 provide a pair of nibs 9 and 10; the nibs 7 and 8 being slightly rounded at their outer ends by widening the slit 4 as clearly indicated in Figure 6 and designated by numeral 11.

In the operation of this form of dual fastener the disk may be gripped between the thumb and forefinger of the operator at points on its periphery in alignment with the opening 2, and when pressure is applied at those points, which are designated X and Y, the nibs 9 and 10 are caused to spread apart or separate in the manner indicated in Figure 6.

With the nibs so spread apart they are brought into contact with the inner face of a garment adjacent the neck thereof so that a portion of the garment is brought therebetween and pressure is then released and the garment gripped between the nubs 9 and 10. The garment is placed on a garment hanger such as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and by pressing the notched portion 11 of the disk against the shank Z of the hanger the nibs 7 and 8 are forced apart and then automatically snapped together again as the shank passes into the opening 2 of the dual fastener. The garment is now centrally held on the body of the hanger and is securely held against inadvertent removal therefrom either when passing along a workshop during processing, if it is only a partly completed garment, or when supported in a closet if it is a completed garment.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 4 and 5 the disk 20 is also formed of rubber or other elastic material and is identical with the disclosure of Figures 1 to 3 inclusive except that a pair of pins 21 has been added. These pins have their heads embedded in the nibs 9 and 10 and their points extend slightly beyond the adjacent wall of the slit and may project very slightly into the opposite wall of the slit on the opposed nib. Thus when the nibs 9 and 10 of this modified construction are open in the manner described and indicated in connection with the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, the points of the pins are separated so that a portion of the garment may be projected into the slit 6. Thereafter pressure on the periphery of the fastener is released and the points of the pins are caused to engage the garment as the nibs 9 and 10 are again brought together due to the resiliency or elasticity in the material of which the fastener is formed. The garment which has been centrally gripped by the fastener 20 will be held centrally of the garment hanger when the nibs 7 and 8 are pressed against the shank Z so as to snap over the latter as referred to in connection with the invention shown in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 7 to 9 inclusive the dual fastener is also formed of rubber or other elastic material and is in the form of a disk of substantially the same shape and size as employed in the other forms of the invention. The fastener is indicated by the numeral 30 and is provided with a substantially cylindrical opening 31 extending from one substantially flat surface to the other of the disk and communicating with the periphery 32 thereof by means of a slit 34 which provides nibs 35 and 36 very similar to the nibs 7 and 8, heretofore described in connection with the other forms of the invention. In this form also the outer portion of the nibs are rounded as indicated by the numeral 37 (Figure 7) so that the nibs may be caused to spread apart when pressed against the shank of a garment hanger to permit the shank to enter the vertically extending opening 31.

In lieu of the opening 5 and nibs 9 and 10 employed in the previously described forms of the invention, the disk 30 is provided with an opening 38 extending at right angles to the opening 31 and opening into the periphery of the disk at points indicated by the numeral 39. The

3 opening 38 is also caused to communicatewith the periphery 32 of the disk opposite slit 34 by means of slit 40 which extends from the opening 38 to the periphery in a plane perpendicular to slit 34, as clearly indicated in Figure 8, thereby providing arcuate nibs 41 and 42.

In this form of the invention it is also necessary that some means be provided for spreading the nibs 41 and 42 so as to permit them to grasp a portion of the garment. To this end the interior of the disk 30 is provided with an elongated opening 43 disposed intermediate the upper and lower surfaces of the body of the disk and encircling the opening 31 and comprising an internal enlargement thereof. This opening 43, which is of substantial size as clearly indicated in Figure 9, permits the nibs 41 and 42 to be separated when pressure is applied to the upper and lower surfaces of the. disk adjacent the opening 43, so that a portion of a garment may be grasped thereby. It is obvious, of course, that, if

desired, pins such as pins 21 might be applied to this form of the invention as well as to that shown in Figures 4 and 5.

I claim:

A dual fastener comprising a disklike body of resilient material having an opening extending therethrough from one substantially flat surface to the other and having a diameter approximating one-half the radius of the disk,

said opening being disposed adjacent the center of the disk, a slit connecting said opening and the periphery of the disk forming a pair of nibs, a second opening extending at right angles to the first-mentioned opening and having a length approximating the diameter of the disk, said body also provided with a slit opposite the first slit and in a plane perpendicular thereto extending from the second opening to the periphery to form a pair of arcuate nibs, said first-mentioned opening provided with an enlargement intermediate its ends and disposed partly between said openings, whereby pressure applied to the disk-like surfaces adjacent said enlargement will cause the arcuate nibs to separate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,916,733 Light July 4, 1933 1,928,536 Heinlein Sept. 26, 1933 1,982,589 Bergstrom Nov. 27, 1934 2,225,472 Franklin Dec. 17, 1940 2,308,336 Mason Jan. 12, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,441 Great Britain Dec. 21, 1914 637,094 Germany Sept. 10, 1935 

